Ellis, Wyckoff Named Preseason All-SEC
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas senior first baseman Bri Ellis and junior utility player Kailey Wyckoff were named Preseason All-SEC as the Razorbacks were predicted to finish seventh in a vote by the league’s coaches, the conference office announced on Thursday morning.
Arkansas was one of seven schools to have numerous student-athletes land preseason all-conference honors.
Ellis is coming off an impressive junior campaign in which she hit a career-best .322 and led the Razorbacks with 14 home runs, 36 runs scored and 47 RBI, in addition to pacing the squad with a .651 slugging percentage and .444 on-base percentage. She also posted a team-best 14 multi-RBI games and 11 multi-hit games during her junior season. As a result of her efforts, Ellis was a Second-Team All-America selection by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and earned First-Team All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive Team honors. Ellis enters the 2025 season with 48 career home runs, which is the second-most nationally among all active Division I players, trailing only Shaylon Govan of Baylor. In addition to the long ball, she has posted 43 multi-RBI and 27 multi-hit games throughout her collegiate career.
Wyckoff arrives in Fayetteville after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at Texas Tech. She posted a .407 batting average with 12 doubles, seven home runs and a career-high 35 RBI to earn First-Team All-Big 12 honors while with the Red Raiders in 2024. She also recorded 15 multi-hit games and a team-best 24-game reached-base streak. During her two seasons at Texas Tech, Wyckoff appeared all over the field for the Red Raiders, with nine or more starts at five different positions. She appeared in 51 games as a catcher, 24 games in right field, 12 games in left field, 10 games as a designated player and nine games at first base. Her career batting average of .400 ranks fourth among all players with multiple seasons of collegiate playing experience at the Power 4 level and 15th nationally among all Division I players.
Ellis and Wyckoff have garnered a plethora of preseason accolades entering the 2025 campaign. Both were selected as top 100 players by Softball America and D1Softball in addition to being named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. Wyckoff also added Second-Team Preseason All-America honors from D1Softball on Jan. 22.
The preseason All-SEC Softball Team is voted on by the conference’s head coaches and consists of a minimum of 24 players to highlight the upcoming season.
As a team, Arkansas was predicted to finish seventh in the SEC. Texas, which earned seven first-place votes, was the favorite to win the league, followed by Florida and Oklahoma.
2025 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
Place – School – Points
1 – Texas (7) – 186
2 – Florida (6) – 181
3 – Oklahoma (2) – 170
4 – Tennessee – 158
5 – Texas A&M – 153
6 – LSU – 115
7 – Arkansas – 104
8 – Georgia – 103
9 – Missouri – 100
10 – Alabama – 97
11 – Kentucky – 55
12 – Mississippi State – 54
13 – Auburn – 37
14 – Ole Miss – 34
15 – South Carolina – 28
Arkansas enters the 2025 season as a consensus top 15 team nationally, having garnered preseason rankings of No. 13, No. 14, No. 10 and No. 13 in the ESPN/USA, NFCA/GoRout D1 Coaches, D1 Softball and Softball America Preseason Top 25 Polls ahead of the 2025 season. The Razorbacks open the 2025 campaign in San Marcos, Texas, at the Texas State Tournament (Feb. 6-8). The Razorbacks will face tournament host Texas State on Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. in the season opener. Arkansas will then return the following day to face Lipscomb (1:15 p.m.) and Bradley (3:30 p.m.) before concluding the tournament slate with Bradley (10 a.m.) and San Deigo (12:15 p.m.) on Feb. 8.
The Razorbacks have won two of the last four regular-season SEC titles. They are coming off a 37-18 mark in 2024, which featured their seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and fifth national seed, all of which have come under head coach Courtney Deifel’s guidance.
For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
